Britain
finally honours Polish war effort with the first national memorial
seventy years after the start of the Second World War.

a memorial and book commemorate
500,000 Poles who fought under UK command
Seventy years after the Nazi invasion of Poland, the first official
war memorial in the
UK to the 500,000 Poles who fought under British command in the
second world war
is to be dedicated as part of an emotional "last campaign"
by veterans.
Despite being the fourth largest allied army in the fight against
Germany, Poland's
role in the allies' ultimate victory has long been overlooked, said
organisers.
Polish veterans were profoundly shocked to discover young people
in Britain asking
whether Poland fought with Germany. To ensure the Polish contribution
to Britain's
war effort is never forgotten, a new book, First to Fight,
is published today, the
anniversary of the invasion.
The book comes ahead of the unveiling of the £300,000 memorial
at the National
Memorial Arboretum on 19 September.
"So many Polish veterans are no longer with us. They are dropping
very fast. All we
see are obituaries," said Dr Marek Stella-Sawicki, chair of
the Polish War Memorial
Committee and editor of the book detailing the roles of those who
fought through
personal accounts of surviving veterans.
Lady Thatcher, patron of Conservative Friends of Poland and supporter
of the last
campaign, said: "We must never forget Poland's unique contribution
to Britain's
freedom and the defeat of Nazi Germany. Poland fought alongside
us from the first
day of the war to the last. Her people showed extraordinary bravery,
many giving
their lives as the ultimate sacrifice. But the freedoms for which
they fought were to
be cruelly denied them in the postwar world."
General the Lord Guthrie, a former chief of the defence staff, said:
"We owe much to
the Poles who came to join us in our struggle. There was a time
when the only allies
the British commonwealth had were Polish and large numbers died
in battle many
miles from their country. We are right to remember those gallant
men and women,
who, at a very difficult time in both our countries' histories,
were our firm friends and
allies."
A ceremony at Westerplatte fort, in the harbour of Gdansk, Poland,
where the first
salvos of the war were fired, takes place today. Those attending
include the Polish
prime minister, Donald Tusk, the German chancellor, Angela Merkel,
and Britain's
foreign secretary, David Miliband.
Sawicki, professor of computer science at University College London,
whose parents
met "through the wire" at a prisoner of war camp in Germany,
said Poland was
slighted when its soldiers and sailors were denied representation
in the 1946 Victory
Parade in London at Stalins insistence.
He added that though the Arboretum, near Lichfield, Staffordshire,
contained some
130 war memorials, until now none had been dedicated to the Poles
killed during the
second world war. Much of the £300,000 came from the public.
As well as personal accounts, First to Fight also includes
for the first time a full
English translation of Stalin's signed order to execute 14,736 of
the Polish Officer
Corps at Katyn Forest, Russia, in 1940.

Lt Gen Wadyslaw Anders1892 - 1970

Captured
by the Russians after the partition of Poland in 1939,Anders was released
from the Lubianka prison, Moscow, in 1941 to lead the Polish POWs from
Russia into Persia, where the British had offered to arm and equip them
to fight against the Germans in the Western Desert where they acquitted
themselves with great distinction. The resulting corps, Polish II Corps,
became one of the most redoubtable military formations of the war. Its
principal, and unforgettable, achievement was to capture Monte Cassino,
17-18 May 1944, after three costly previous attempts had failed. Anders
subsequently led it in the battles up the Adriatic Coast and in the
clearance of the Po Valley.
Most of II Corps chose exile at the end of the war, and Anders remained
leader of their community in England
until his death when he was reunited with his fallen comrades in the
Polish cemetery at Monte Cassino.
The Polish l Corps was again formed from POWs captured by the Soviets
and fought as part of the Red Army under Soviet officers. They were
part of the assaulting force at the battle for Berlin. After the war,
they formed the nucleus of the army of the puppet communist state of
Poland.

The raising of the
Polish flag at
Monte Cassino

The Polish Cross
of
Monte Cassino

Lt Gen Wladyslaw Anders' tomb in the Polish Cemetery at Cassino

Polish cemetery at
Monte Cassino

Red Poppies on Monte Cassino
D`you see those ruins on the hill-top?
There your foe hides like a rat!
You must, you must, you must
Grab his neck and cast him from the clouds!
And they went, heedless of danger
And they went, to kill and avenge
And they went stubborn as ever,
As always - for honour - to fight.

Refrain:
Red poppies on Monte Cassino
Instead of dew, drank Polish blood.
As the soldier crushed them in falling,
For the anger was more potent than death.
Years will pass and ages will roll,
But traces of bygone days will stay,
And the poppies on Monte Cassino
Will be redder having quaffed Polish blood.
They charged through fire like madmen,
Countless were hit and fell,
Like the cavalry at Samosierra,
Like the men at Rokitno years ago.
They attacked with fury and fire,
And they got there. They climbed to the top,
And their white and scarlet standard
They placed on the ruins `midst clouds.

Refrain:
Red poppies on Monte Cassino ....
D`you see this row of white crosses?
Polish soldiers did honour there wed.
The further you go, the higher,
The more of such crosses youl'l meet.
This soil was won for Poland,
Though Poland is far away,
For Freedom is measured in crosses
When history from justice does stray.

The Battle of Monte Cassino"The red poppies on Monte Cassino instead of
dew were drinking Polish blood..." the lyrics of a soldiers' song
written on the battlefield commemorate one of the greatest achievements
of Polish armed forces during World War II-the Battle of Monte Cassino
in May 1944.
The Battle of Monte Cassino, also called the Battle of Rome, was fought
on the Italian front in 1944. The Germans who defended themselves in
Italy built a line of fortifications, the "Gustav and Hitler Lines,"
across the Apennine Peninsula around 120 kilometers to the south of
Rome.
The Allies tried to break the strongly fortified Gustav Line in the
Liri river valley through which they could have access to Rome. The
key point of the German defense in this area was Monte Cassino with
the Benedictine Abbey atop the hill.
The 15th Army Group, under Gen. Harold Alexander's command, fought on
the Italian front. The Group was composed of the 5th U.S. Army, British
8th Army, including Polish 2nd Corps under Gen. Wladyslaw Anders, and
French Expeditionary Corps. The enemy was the German C Army Group under
the command of Field Marshal Alfred Kesselring.
Three attempts to break the Gustav Line-in January, combined with an
Allied landing operation near Anzio, and in February and March 1944-ended
in failure. Only the fourth attack of the Allied forces along the whole
front-line was successful. The operations of the Polish 2nd Corps were
decisive for the final success in breaking the German defence.
The Polish Corps' participation in this battle was important both militarily
and politically. The point was to show the world that Poland, although
defeated in 1939, was still fighting and to raise the spirits of the
Polish people in their German-occupied homeland.
This was clearly emphasized by Gen. Anders in his assault order: "Soldiers,
Time has come to start fighting. We have lived to see the moment when
we will be taking revenge on our eternal enemy. The British, American,
Canadian and New Zealand Divisions as well as French, Italian and Indian
units will be fighting with us shoulder to shoulder. The task we have
received to perform will bring glory to the Polish soldier across the
world. In the belief of providence's justice, we will go forward with
the holy motto in our hearts: 'God, Honour, Homeland!"
The fourth assault on the Gustav Line started on May 11, 1944. The British
Army attacked along the Liri river valley and the Polish 2nd Corps launched
an attack on Monte Cassino and surrounding hills. This is where select
German units-a parachute division and mountain riflemen's battalions-were
conducting a defense. The Polish Corps, advancing on Monte Cassino in
a difficult mountainous terrain defended by numerous bunkers and minefields,
suffered heavy losses. Although the first companies were decimated in
bloody battles and had to withdraw, they engaged the main German forces
which enabled the British troops to cross the Liri and Rapido rivers.
Another attack started in the night of May 16 with the capture of the
"Phantom" (Widmo) hill. During two-day bloody battles the
Poles were pushing the Germans back from one position after another.
At the decisive moment, Gen. Anders sent all reserves to battle-even
drivers, cooks and war corespondents fought at the front line.
The Germans, facing a threat of being cut off by the Polish assault
and the British troops advancing in the Liri river valley, pulled out
from Monte Cassino. On May 18, a patrol of the 12th Regiment of Podolia
Uhlans reached the monastery and raised the Polish flag on the ruins.
Troops of the 2nd Corps chased the Germans who tried to defend themselves
near Piedimonte on the Hitler Line. The Poles took over this position
as well.
Thanks to the victorious battle of Monte Cassino the road to Rome was
opened for the Allies. The city was liberated on June 4, 1944. Gen.
Harold Alexander, the chief commander of the Italian front, had a high
opinion of Polish troops: "Soldiers of the Polish Corps, I can
honestly and openly assure you that if I had the opportunity to choose
soldiers which I would like to have under my command I would choose
you, the Poles," he wrote after the battle to Polish soldiers.
The Polish 2nd Corps paid a high price for the Monte Cassino victory-it
lost 4,199 men, including 924 killed. The Germans lost over 1,100 soldiers.

King George Vl talking to pilots of
303 Polish Squadron RAF

No 303 Polish Squadron clocked up the highest allied
scores during the Battle of Britain, with Sergeant Josef Frantisek,
a maverick Czech national and honorary Pole', becoming th
highest scorer of the Battle. In 1943, RAF Northolt's Spitfire
MK IX Squadrons became the first Spitfire Wing as a unit to
operate over Germany.
See a biography of Frantise

sent in by
Mike Murray

Honour sought for 'Soldier Bear'

Voytek

A campaign has been launched to build a permanent memorial to a bear
which spent much of its life in Scotland - after fighting in World War
II.

The bear - named Voytek - was adopted in the Middle
East by Polish troops in 1943, becoming much more than a mascot. The
large animal even helped their armed forces to carry ammunition at the
Battle of Monte Cassino. Voytek - known as the Soldier Bear - later
lived near Hutton in the Borders and ended his days at Edinburgh Zoo.
He was found wandering in the hills of Iran by Polish soldiers in 1943.

They adopted him and as he grew he was trained to carry heavy
mortar rounds.

When Polish forces were deployed to Europe the only
way to take the bear with them was to "enlist" him. So he
was given a name, rank and number and took part in the Italian campaign.

He saw action at Monte Cassino before being billeted
- along with about 3,000 other Polish troops - at the army camp in the
Scottish Borders.

The soldiers who were stationed with him say that
he was easy to get along with. "He was just like a dog - nobody
was scared of him," said Polish veteran Augustyn Karolewski, who
still lives near the site of the camp. "He liked a cigarette, he
liked a bottle of beer - he drank a bottle of beer like any man."

When the troops were demobilised, Voytek spent his
last days at Edinburgh Zoo.

Mr Karolewski went back to see him on a couple of
occasions and found he still responded to the Polish language. "I
went to Edinburgh Zoo once or twice when Voytek was there," he
said. "And as soon as I mentioned his name he would sit on his
backside and shake his head wanting a cigarette. It wasn't easy to throw
a cigarette to him - all the attempts I made until he eventually got
one."

Voytek was a major attraction at the zoo until his
death in 1963.

Eyemouth High School teacher Garry Paulin is now
writing a new book, telling the bear's remarkable story.

'Totally amazing'

Local campaigner Aileen Orr would like to see a memorial
created at Holyrood to the bear she says was part of both the community
and the area's history. She first heard about Voytek as a child from
her grandfather, who served with the King's Own Scottish Borderers.
"I thought he had made it up to be quite honest but it was only
when I got married and came here that I knew in fact he was here, Voytek
was here," she said. "When I heard from the community that
so few people knew about him I began to actually research the facts.
It is just amazing, the story is totally amazing."